BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Treatment of stroke patients in specialized stroke units has become more frequent, yet the effect of this treatment has not been determined. METHODS In a community-based, prospective, and consecutive study of 1241 unselected acute stroke patients, we compared outcome of stroke treatment between two neighboring communities within Greater Copenhagen: the Bispebjerg commun...

In this paper we describe the use of triage to select patients for a trial in which a comparison was made of the effectiveness of a stroke unit and medical units in the rehabilitation of acute stroke. Completing the triage for hospital admission of stroke enabled an estimate to be made of the size of a stroke unit per unit of population.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The benefits of stroke unit management may vary according to stroke subtype. A post hoc analysis of the influence of stroke subtype on stroke unit effectiveness was undertaken by using prospective data collected in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS Two hundred sixty-seven patients with moderately severe ischemic stroke (164 with large-vessel infarcts and 103 with l...

Acute stroke care in hospitals is best performed in organized stroke units, which are the essential part of the chain of recovery and form the backbone of prehospital, in-hospital, and posthospital care, that is, from home back to home. There is convincing evidence from a large number of randomized controlled trials that the outcomes of stroke and transient isch-emic attack (TIA) patients manag...

In a randomized controlled trial we compared the clinical outcome of acute stroke patients, 110 of whom were allocated to treatment in a stroke unit and 110 to treatment in general medical wards. No significant difference existed between these groups with regard to sex, age, marital status, medical history, or functional impairment on admission. Outcome was measured at 6 and 52 weeks after the ...

Objective: Stroke is a kind of disease with high morbidity, high mortality and high disability rate. Since currently available drugs treating cerebral ischemia have many limitations, it is necessary to find a new treatment approaches. The emergence of neurovascular unit provides a new perspective for basic research of stroke. Methods: Summarize the literature of research data relevant on the ne...

Background. Common models of acute stroke care include the acute stroke unit, focusing on acute management, and the comprehensive stroke unit, incorporating acute care and rehabilitation. We hypothesise that the rehabilitation focus in the comprehensive stroke unit promotes early physical activity and discharge directly home. Methods. We conducted a two-centre prospective observational study of...

Early mobilization and rehabilitation, multidisciplinary stroke expertise and comprehensive therapies are fundamental in a stroke unit. To achieve effective and safe stroke care, the physical environment in modern stroke units should facilitate the delivery of evidence-based care. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore patients' activities and interactions in a stroke unit before t...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The influence of age on benefits of stroke unit rehabilitation is largely unknown. METHODS A prospective controlled study was undertaken in 245 stroke survivors randomized to a stroke unit or to general wards 2 weeks after stroke. Patients were divided into older (75 years and over) and younger (under 75 years) age groups, and their characteristics, prognosis, duration,...